The fact is, the People of God are abysmally ignorant about art these days. We know what we like but not really what we are talking about. Too many of us confuse personal taste with artistic excellence, and our tastes have been corrupted by fear and suspicion of the age. A devout woman described her artistic sensibility to me not long ago as, \"If it’s new, it’s bad.\"

The fact is, the People of God are abysmally ignorant about art these days.

And thus, when great religious art, with all of its depth and space for exploration, arrives, all the People of God know to do with it is pick it up and use it as a blunt instrument... to seize "the evangelical opportunity"... and pound unbelievers over the head with it. The Passion of the Christ, anyone?